Injection Mold & Remote Updates
over 1 year ago – Thu, Mar 09, 2023 at 03:54:52 PM

Thank you all again for your support of the TinyTV 2 and TinyTV Mini campaign and we're getting closer to getting these out to everyone.

Injection Mold Updates

Through February we've been hard at work to get TinyTV 2 and TinyTV Mini production started. We've been working with our plastic injection molding partner continuously to help them make final adjustments to the TinyTV 2 mold, preparing it for quantity production. The first samples had minor issues that are being corrected with additional machining steps. This is a time consuming process, but we believe that we will have final plastic parts this month.

This picture shows an early sample of the front panel plastic piece with minor defects that have since been corrected. We're excited to see some of the tiny details come through even with the unfinished surface!

 
Note the small cutout for the IR receiver below the screen has been updated from the Kickstarter video prototypes to improve reception of the Tiny Remote signals.

The TinyTV Mini design updates for injection molding were completed in early February and mold machining work has begun. It's more complex than we initially understood to produce these tiny parts, so we don't have an exact date for sample plastic but are excited to share updates as soon as possible. For now, here's a sample image of the TinyTV Mini final design:

Tiny Remote Updates

We have our Tiny Remote prototypes built, 3-D designed and functional! Take a look:

Shipping & Schedule

We expect to have some production quantities of the TinyTV 2 plastic by the end of March and will begin shipping TinyTV 2's first, followed by TinyTV Mini's when that plastic is ready.

Surveys

Everyone will be receiving a survey email from Backerkit in the next two weeks - this will collect your shipping address, let you choose options (like case color) and allow you to enter in the text you would like displayed for your name if you chose the Special Edition level.

Thank you all again!  We'll be sharing more as we start to ship out units.

Ken and the entire TinyCircuits Team

TinyTV Production Update
over 1 year ago – Sun, Jan 29, 2023 at 06:54:59 PM

It's been a month since our last update on the TinyTV 2 and TinyTV Mini campaign - production is moving along on schedule!

Procurement Update

3D Prints - the early bird units built with 3D printed enclosures shipped at the end of December for early bird backers that chose this (some opted to wait for the injected molded versions that are currently in development).  We also have a new version of the 3D printed Tiny Remote enclosure - we're testing out the final fit before ordering production quantities of the cases.

Injection Molded Plastic - the injection mold design for the both TinyTV 2 and TinyTV Mini are now in progress. We will be getting samples of the cases in from our plastic supplier in the next few weeks. Once we test that the design is solid and looks good, we'll have our plastic partners produce several thousand of these in February.

Electronic Components - We're happy to announce that we have all of the components in to make all of the TinyTVs!  We currently have all of the raw components to make over four thousand TinyTV 2 PCBs and two thousand TinyTV Minis - more than enough for all of the Kickstarter units, including all of the batteries, IPS TFT screens for the TinyTV 2 and the OLED screens for the TinyTV Mini.

Software

We've been making great progress on the firmware and software tools for the TinyTVs as well!

Firmware - All of the early bird units shipped with an early version of the TinyTV firmware, we are working on a few updates to add more features. We will also be working on adding the credits screen for all the Special Edition backers. To make firmware updates easy, we are developing a webpage that will be able to update the TinyTV firmware after connecting your TinyTV to your computer with a USB-C cable.

TinyTV Video Converter - While we have an early version of the TinyTV Converter Application out now and available for Early Bird TinyTVs, we are working on the next version that will include some backwards-compatibility for TinyTV DIY Kit users:

TinyTV Video Streaming - video streaming to the TinyTVs from your computer now supports TinyTV Mini! Check out the TinyTV Live Streaming Tutorial now to get a peek at how it looks!

Shipping & Schedule

We sent out surveys to the early bird backers in December asking if they would like the 3D printed version sent right away, or if they wanted to wat for the injection molded version. Around half of the early bird backers requested the 3D printed version which shipped out in December.  

The remaining units are still on schedule to ship in the spring of 2023!

Surveys

Everyone will be receiving a survey email from Backerkit in the very near future - this will collect your shipping address, let you choose options (like case color) and allow you to enter in the text you would like shown for your name if you chose the Special Edition level.

Thank you all again!  We'll be sharing more as we ramp up production.

Ken and the entire TinyCircuits Team

TinyTVs In Production!
almost 2 years ago – Thu, Dec 22, 2022 at 12:18:43 AM

It's been a month since the end of the TinyTV 2 campaign here on Kickstarter and we're excited to share that things are moving along great! We received the Kickstarter funds in early December, and since then have been hard at work procuring all the materials and prepping for making a crazy amount of TinyTVs.

Earlier this week we started production of the first set of TinyTV 2 and TinyTV Mini units!

Procurement Update

3D Prints - all of the early bird units will be built using the 3D printed case design, and all of these prints are in now.  Take a look:

Injection Molded Plastic - the injection mold design for the TinyTV 2 is in progress, and we should have samples of the plastic in from our plastic supplier in early January, followed a few weeks later by the TinyTV Mini cases.  Once we think the design is solid, we'll have our plastic partners produce several thousand of these in the January / February timeframe.  

Electronic Components - As many people are aware, there is a global supply chain shortage that is effecting pretty much everything involving electronics - but in particular integrated circuits (ICs) which are used in electronic devices. We've been diligent on getting our components in as early as we could and are actually in very good shape with regards to the TinyTV. We currently have almost all of the raw components to make over four thousand TinyTV 2 PCBs and two thousand TinyTV Minis - more than enough for all of the Kickstarter units! There are still a few more components on their way into our factory in Ohio, but these should be in by the end of December 2022.

Screens - Another item that we were concerned about in the global electronic shortage was the 0.6" OLED screen for the TinyTV Mini and the 1.14" IPS TFT screen for the TinyTV2, since screens also have been hit hard by supply chain problems.  Luckily, we were able to secure these early, and now have 3000 of the 0.6" screens in our factory and will have 5000 of the 1.14" screens shipping out to us by the end of this year.

Production Update

Earlier this month we ran the first set of TinyTV 2 and TinyTV Mini production panels through our SMT line, we made enough for production testing, and also for the 50 early birds of each type which will be shipping soon.

We'll be sharing more updates on the production process, but we took a few quick pictures of what we have done, including the early birds units being put together:

Shipping & Schedule

As of today, we're on schedule to be shipping the 100 early bird units by the end December, and to ship the other units in the spring of 2023.

Surveys

Everyone will be receiving a survey email from Backerkit in the very near future - this will collect your shipping address, let you choose options (like case color) and allow you to enter in the text you would like shown for your name if you chose the Special Edition level.

Thank you all again!  We'll be sharing more as we ramp up production.

Ken and the entire TinyCircuits Team

TinyTV Kickstarter Over - Thank You All!
almost 2 years ago – Mon, Dec 12, 2022 at 05:18:44 PM

Thank you all for backing the TinyTV 2 and TinyTV Mini!  It was a huge success and we thank you all for your pledges and support during this campaign!

We're already getting things lined up for mass production of both the TinyTV 2 and TinyTV Mini, and look forward to sharing more updates very soon.  People are already creating games for their Thumbys, and it will be so cool to see these out being used by everyone!  We can't wait to start shipping them out.  

We also excited to announce that we are continuing TinyTV preorders via Indiegogo InDemand here, so if you missed out on the original Kickstarter campaign you can still get in on getting a TinyTV 2 or TinyTV Mini.  However, the Kickstarter exclusive content won't be available via Indiegogo and is now closed out - Special Edition TinyTVs are exclusive to people that backed us on Kickstarter only. 

Next Steps

So what's next?  Well, Kickstarter will sendus the funds in about two weeks from now, and then we'll get all of the components order and start producing TinyTVs in volume here in our Akron, Ohio factory early in 2023, with the plan to ship in the spring of 2023.  We do have the parts in house to start on the early birds and plan to have these shipped in December. 

We will be using Backerkit to send out surveys in the near future, where we will request your address, and allow you to choose options and also allow you to add on additional items if you wish.  We'll let you know ahead of time when we'll be sending these out.

Shipments will be done based on the order on when we received your pledge and also based on stock for your particular reward level.

Thank you all again!  We can't wait to get these out to you.  

Ken and the entire TinyCircuits Team

Final Week
almost 2 years ago – Tue, Nov 15, 2022 at 04:58:33 PM

Only one week remains on the TinyTV 2 and TinyTV Mini Kickstarter campaign and the response continues to be great - over 2000 backers and 189K raised, thanks so much!

Tiny Remote Update

We're revamping the tiny remote that we've used on the earlier TinyTV kits - these older remotes will still work with both the TinyTV 2 and TinyTV Mini, but the new remote control now has an enclosure! 

This will be 3D printed and is about the size of your thumb (just about the same size of the Thumby if you have one of those). The remote has a power button, and up/down selection for the channel and an up/down selection for the volume. A small coin cell battery will be provided to power the remote, and this can be easily changed as needed.

The Tiny Remote comes with some of the higher end reward levels, and you can also add a remote to your Kickstarter pledge by selecting it as an add-on.

Who's Talking About Us?

NexJen got an early look at the TinyTV 2 - check out her hands-on review on her YouTube channel.

"What is this, a television for ants? Basically yes!" - The Verge 

"The TinyTV 2 is a small box with an even smaller screen. Like really small." - Liliputing 

"You don't want to miss the experience to watch on a tiny tv!" - Tech Times 

"This Company Creates the World’s Smallest TV Sets" - OddityCentral 

Newstalk - Listen to an Irish radio interview about the TinyTV with Ken Burns

Thank you!

Keep spreading the word about the TinyTV 2 / TinyTV Mini to grow it into something amazing. Share on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

Thanks again for all your support!

Ken and the entire TinyCircuits Team